Sunday, 30 December 2007

Rex Features site has a good number of pictures from the McCann family. I couldn't see this picture, signed by Paul Grover. A special thank you to MC, who sent me this link. But today I received several emails and sms about a story from a local radio, concerning a child's body found near Praia da Luz. There was nothing in the news, in Portugal, so I presume it was a false alarm.

I checked the official Find Madeleine site and realized they have a new item, in the Madeleine Store: the “Mobile Phone Background”, an image you can download and put in the screen of your mobile phone. I wonder what will be next. A video-game? Hello, Callum McRae?

I never heard of clues of sightings of Madeleine in Greece, but there is a well organized group searching for Madeleine in that country, since July (Thank you “thedayjusticedied”!). The group is affiliated with the officially supported site Help To Find Madeleine. Curious. How long will it take until there is a shrine, a cult, around Madeleine? By the way, the HTFM is looking for people living in Portugal, to help in the campaign to search for Madeleine. I'm sorry for not volunteering, but I prefer to search for the truth.

Saturday, 29 December 2007

According to the British Media, sisters Jayne Jensen and Annie Wiltshire, who were in the Portugese resort when Maddie vanished in May, have given an "extensive interview" to cops detailing their suspicions about suspect Robert Murat. The sisters, who live together in Aylesford, Maidstone, Kent, had been named in Portugese newspapers for the first time as having assisted police with their enquiries in the hunt for Maddie's abductor. This is curious. I checked all Portuguese newspapers and couldn't find any report about these two sisters.

Mr Wilkins said he saw no man carrying a child or Jane Tanner herself. "It was a very narrow path and I think it would have been almost impossible for anyone to walk by without me noticing," he said, months ago.Jes Wilkins disappeared and never talked to the Media, again. No journalist tried to find him. Recently, his wife came forward, following indications from Clarence Mitchell, and wrote a column in the Guardian, defending the McCann: "I have always believed that Kate and Gerry McCann are innocent," Miss O'Donnell wrote in the article.

“I've tried so hard to avoid it, but I think I'm getting drawn into the McCann conspiracy theories industry. Weeks ago I asked their man Clarence Mitchell why the apartment from where Madeleine disappeared was registered to an owner called McCann. I had to pester him for an answer, which only added to my suspicion that it was Gerry and Kate's second home and for some reason they had pretended it was a holiday rental. We finally nailed it. The place belongs to a Ruth McCann, a teacher in Liverpool (where Kate is from), who inherited it from her late husband. She told us she was no relation to Madeleine's family and hoped she wouldn't be pestered after my inquiry (...) The chance of the McCanns renting a holiday home from someone of the same name is 7,500-to-one. That also means that there were probably three people called McCann at the Bruce Springsteen concert at the 23,000-seat O2 arena in Greenwich last night.”

What would be the chances of so many people connected to TV and Media being present at Ocean Club, on May 3, the night Madeleine Beth disappeared?

Madeleine McCann disappeared on May 3rd 2007. Fifty days after that, hundreds of balloons were released, in several countries - including Canada. How many days before that date did the McCann and their supporters bought the balloons used on the celebration?

Thursday, 27 December 2007

Is this the same Paul Grover from REX FEATURES, "Britain's leading independent photographic press agency and picture library, supplying a daily service of news, celebrity, features, and stock photos to all national newspapers, magazines, TV, web and other media in the UK and in more than 30 countries worldwide"? Or is it just a coincidence? The picture was posted at one of the several sites organized and promoted by a McCann special support group, a secret organization which has members in more than 25 countries. The site was set up on May 9th, just six days after Madeleine McCann disappeared.

Monday, 24 December 2007

As many of you noticed, activity in this pages has been reduced. Following a story like Madeleine's disappearance was an almost full-time job for me, during last summer and until October. But life goes on and there are bills to be paid, at the end of the month. So, I have to spend more time in other stories and works, in order to make ends meet. I'll be back, with news about Madeleine, when and if there are big news – something I believe will happens near the end of January. For the next days, I'll recommend you reading these two posts, from “Spudgun” and “Blackwatch”, two regular contributors of Mirror forums, with whom many of the so-called “journalists” from mainstream Media have a lot to learn. Thank you very much, both of you, for your effort in looking for the truth.

EDITORIAL INTELLIGENCE AND MADELEINE MCCANN:WHERE TRUTH LIES - A CASH FOR COMMENTS SCANDALBy “Blackwatch”A number of weeks ago BBC News 24 announced that the 'Head of Media Monitoring and Analysis' was to review that day's papers. Her name was Julia Hobsbawm. Now we know that the 'Head of Media Monitoring and Analysis' at that time was Clarence Mitchell - but the BBC misled the British Public by suggesting a government official was to review that day's papers. Naturally Julia Hobsbawm embarked on a not so loquacious rant saying that the very idea of the McCanns being involved in Madeleine’s disappearance was plainly ridiculous. "It is time this country asked questions of the Portuguese police and Portugal itself, else we won’t go on there on holiday any more", she said. But Julia Hobsbawm is not a government official. Julia Hobsbawm is an independent PR consultant with deep New Labour Links. She was also a partner in Hobsbawm Macaulay Communications with Sarah Macaulay, now known as Sarah Brown, the wife of British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown (continue)

A STORY FOR CHRISTMASBy “Spudgun”The summer of 1990 was a particularly hot one, even by Algarve standards. I had sold a lot of the household possessions emanating from a broken relationship, in order to finance the kindling for a NEW one, by accompanying a young lady to Albufeira for a weeks sojourn. Cold ‘Sagres‘, Frango and huge surfer waves rolling in on ‘Fisherman’s Beach’ are just a few of the most enduring memories I have of that holiday. Alas, on a personal level, true love spectacularly failed to blossom on that occasion. However, what DID bloom was a deep and rewarding love affair with the country of Portugal and its people, some of whom I deem very close and consider as my family, that not only lasts to this day but is an important part of my life. Of course, I am not unique in falling for its charms; several million of my fellow countrymen visit Portugal every year, especially the Algarve. Since that hot summer I have returned to Portugal many times and visited many places there, and have always been struck by the genuine warmth, integrity, courtesy and generosity of the Portuguese, qualities that I consider to be generic to the race as a whole. (continue)

Wednesday, 19 December 2007

Staff from Bill Henderson's office suggested the name of Robert Murat as a reliable translator who could be used in the police inquiry, the days following Madeleine McCann disappearance. Murat was already known among diplomatic staff, as he had recommendation letters from Norfolk Police, where he worked for Bernard Matthews, one of the largest poultry farm companies in UK, which employs hundreds of Portuguese workers. The fact that Robert Murat has acted, before, as translator for Norfolk Police, and the recommendation issued by Bill Henderson's office, at the time the British consul in Algarve, took police to accept the suggestion, according to PJ sources. After Murat was named a formal suspect, Police went through all translations he has done, checking its accuracy, but no problem was found, according to the same sources. Bill Henderson retired from his diplomatic post and went back to UK in August.

Monday, 17 December 2007

The Metodo 3 hotline, set up by the private detectives company hired by the McCann, to receive information from potential witnesses, has been out of service in the last days. Several attempts to dial the number had no result and Clarence Mitchell, contacted by phone, confirmed that the contract with Metodo 3 wasn't cancelled and admitted that the difficulties in getting somebody to answer the hotline could be due to the fact that Metodo 3 has changed his offices, recently. On the last message posted at the official site of Madeleine, Gerry appealed again to witnesses to contact the Spanish hotline: “We again appeal to anyone who may have any information that might be relevant to contact your local police or our private investigators on +34. 902. 300 213 if they have any information which might be relevant.”

Thursday, 13 December 2007

"Today, the Madeleine McCann story develops into a slanging match between their spokesman and suspect Robert Murat's mother. I understand that some of it is stirred up by reporters looking for an angle, but it's becoming more of a soap opera each day. And I don't know anyone who understands what that detective agency is doing to justify £50,000 a month?"

However, Philomena McCann, Gerry's sister, admitted that the couple is satisfied with the role that Gordon Brown has been playing in the investigation of Madeleine's disappearance. She told the Press that some people doesn't want “to do everything in the eyes of the media” and praised the British Prime-Minister for having “set things in motion at the start..”

The sister of Gerry also told journalists that nothing is changed, in the relations between Mr. Gordon Brown and Gerry McCann who, since the beginning of this case, have been in close touch, but reminded that the British Prime-Minister “has to be very careful in telling other countries how to run their business."

The group of people that was with the McCann on the night Madeleine disappeared could not agree on the idea of a picture of the meeting being send to the Press, as advisers from the McCann couple have promised to some British newspapers. After it emerged that two of the Tapas nine sent new statements to Portuguese Police, through a London lawyer's office, Clarence Mitchell called all the members of the group, to question them about who gave those new statements and to prepare a meeting of all the group. Initially, the meeting was scheduled for a date very close to Christmas, but as the investigation moved ahead, it was anticipated. Members of the McCann legal team and other advisers were present and participated in the discussions held by the group, who are to be questioned again, soon, by British Police, about the events of May 3.

Britain's top barrister today defended the superiority of British Justice, when compared to the Portuguese system. Refusing to single out what kind of problems he considered to be the reason of the inferiority of the Portuguese legal system, Bar Council chairman Timothy Dutton QC said “British justice would have been more effective in discovering the truth” about Madeleine's disappearance. "I was heartened to hear public demands for good old British justice during the recent press coverage of the disturbing Madeleine McCann case," Mr Dutton said.

Friday, 7 December 2007

Alex Woolfall, Sheree Dodd, Clarence Mitchell, David Hughes and Justine McGuiness are some of the personalities that may be questioned, soon, by British Police, in order to clarify specific details of the movements and contacts of the McCann couple, their friends and relatives, in the weeks following Madeleine's disappearance, according to sources from Leicestershire Police. These details are considered “important” to help Portuguese Police to collect more evidence, after investigations in UK produced a new set of informations, given to the PJ team that has been in Leicester, recently. But another inquiry is under way, to find out exactly what was the role of some of the elements sent to Portugal by the Foreign Office, after reports to the British Government raised suspicions about the intention and purpose of several contacts between some of those envoys and the Portuguese authorities.

British Government wants a quick end

The British Government may deny authorization for further questioning of the McCann couple, and suggest instead that formal charges are brought against them, as a way to force a quick end for the case. This possibility was considered as “strong”, yesterday, by sources close to the legal advisers of the McCann, while UK Media referred the British Government involvement in the investigation as a reason for Portuguese police to fear further political interference. Clarence Mitchell, then adviser in the Prime-Minister's Office, revealed on June that Gerry McCann and Gordon Brown had regular phone contacts and it was the British Prime-Minister pressure, allegedly, that took Portuguese police to issue a description of a suspect seen carrying a child, on the night Madeleine vanished. Request for these kind of interviews would be granted almost immediately but, as the Daily Express put it, “everyone is aware this is a very special case for many reasons” and Portuguese police “have been aware of a political shadow hanging over it.”

McCann don't want to return as “arguidos”

After PJ and Leicester Police met, last week, the McCann legal team requested access to the files of this case in the possession of British police, in order to be allowed to refute the evidence contained in the files given to British police and the results of the specific investigations that took place in UK. The lawyers advised the McCann not to came back to Portugal, as formal suspects, and they are planning to argue that, with the new Portuguese Penal Code, it would not be possible to name the McCann as formal suspects, with the existing evidence.

Searches videotaped

The work of the British Police special team that was at Praia da Luz, in August, was videotaped from beginning to the end, and copies of those videos were sent to Forensic Science Service. PJ detectives that followed those searches, with Keela and Eddie, the two specially trained dogs from South Yorkshire Police, had “every single detail of those operations recorded on video, including the collection of the samples sent to FSS”, according to a source from the Public Prosecutor's Office. “News from British Media about cigarette ashes found in those samples are just fabrication”, a source from FSS confirmed: “The samples we received were very small and with a high degree of contamination by house cleaning products, but we were able to get a good amount of results.”

“The McCann Guilt”, the third book published in Portugal about Madeleine's disappearance, is “a lie and its contents an utter fabrication”, according to Clarence Mitchell, the couple's spokesman, who accused the author, editor-in-chief of Correio da Manha, the leading newspaper in Portugal, of trying to profit from the suffering of Kate and Gerry, during the Christmas season: “If people are seeking to capitalise on their suffering in the run up to Christmas then that is a matter for them and their conscience."

Clarence Mitchell told British Media that McCann lawyers were now examining carefully the content of the book. In the book, Manuel Catarino wrote that Madeleine's case is a story that begins in London, where “the official truth was conspired and established: an English girl was kidnapped in the Algarve.” The Sun classified the book as “another sensational attack from the Portuguese media.”

The Sun, December 5, 2007: “THE parents of a Madeleine McCann lookalike who was the victim of a kidnap bid are to be quizzed by private detectives”

Diário de Notícias, May 25, 2007: “A 30 years old man, from Morocco, threatened to kidnap the three year old daughter of a woman who rents a coffee-shop at Fonte de Luzeiros, between Silves and São Bartolomeu de Messines.”

The Sun, December 5, 2007: “Blue-eyed blonde Carolina Santos, three, was snatched by a Moroccan-looking man four months before Maddie vanished (...) Carolina 's parents Abel and Lina (...) were working in their cafe at Fonte Louzeiros when Carolina vanished last Christmas Day. They spotted her with the stranger 300 yards away. When they caught up he fled. Lina said: "If we hadn't come out at that moment I don't know what would have happened."

Diário de Notícias, May 25, 2007 : “The mother told DN that the kidnap threat was made, last Tuesday, by the man “who nobody knows what he does, for a living”, after provoking disturbs at the coffee-shop Falcão, where he was, clearly drunk. 'I will kidnap your daughter', the man told to Lina Carreira who, at the time, was holding his daughter close to her.”

The Sun, December 5, 2007: “Carolina 's parents Abel and Lina offered to help cops two weeks after Maddie, four, disappeared but were never questioned.”

Diário de Notícias, May 25, 2007 : “Lina Carreira filed a complaint with GNR from Silves, the next day, and was contacted yesterday by investigators from Polícia Judiciária, to whom she told what happened.”

The Sun, December 5, 2007: “It is feared Maddie may have been snatched to order and taken to Morocco. Metodo 3 said: 'This could be relevant."

Diário de Notícias, May 25, 2007 : “Talking with local residents, DN found that the man in question is a street seller and a well known trouble maker.”

Now, a simple question to NEIL SYSON and VERONICA LORRAINE, from The Sun: How much are you being paid to do this?

Police has new evidence, apart from DNA samples, that give consistency to their main line of inquiry, in Madeleine's case, according to El Mundo's edition from December 3. The recent meeting at Elderby, Leicester, between police and forensic experts from both countries, brought more details that could help PJ to find an answer to the basic question, since August 11: where is Madeleine's body. Videos, pictures and phone records are among the material Portuguese police received from their British counterparts and allowed them to advance further in the investigation.

A phone call between Gerry McCann and Russel O'Brien, on June 10, in Portugal, got a special attention from PJ. Gerry has told Police, before, that both of them where close to Praia da Luz but technical data from the mobile antennas indicated that there was a distance of 25 km between the two callers. Searches in abandoned buildings in the area produced a towel with blood stains and fibres that were found also in the boot of the Renault Scenic rented by the McCann family.

The existence of contacts between Robert Murat and the so called Tapas Group was another conclusion of the meeting. Investigations in UK unveiled solid evidence that Gerry McCann and Robert Murat paths have crossed even before the family from Rothley came to Portugal. Questioned by journalists, in May, Gerry McCann refuse to confirm if he knew Murat.

Police will question again, soon, the McCann's friends and the parents of Madeleine McCann. Other developments - a new set of witnesses asked to be questioned and charges being brought - are expected for the first weeks of next January.

Wednesday, 5 December 2007

Gerry McCann, father of missing girl Madeleine McCann and formal suspect in her disappearance, is one of the candidates to "Scot of the Year". The election, due in a week, is organized by the Scotsman and wants to chose "the Scots who have inspired us most through the past year", according to the newsaper' site.

"The news is a further crushing blow to the McCanns' hopes of being cleared as suspects. They had hoped that police would lift their official status as suspects after DNA tests failed to find any evidence that they were involved in Madeleine's disappearance from their holiday apartment. But now it appears that they will face a lengthy re-examination by both British and Portuguese detectives over the coming weeks." - This is London, December 4, 2007.

Monday, 3 December 2007

"ONE OF the United Kingdom’s youngest-ever ambassadors to Portugal, Alexander Ellis, 40, took over from John Buck in September. Between 2005 and 2007 he was seconded as Adviser to the President of the European Commission. He is married to Maria Teresa Adegas and has a son." The President of the European Commission is Mr. Durão Barroso, former Portuguese Prime-Minister. And yes, his wife, Maria Teresa Adegas, is Portuguese. And yes, the McCann were named formal suspects in September.

"Police are also said to be investigating a mobile phone call between Gerry and a pal 38 days after the disappearance. Dr Russell O’Brien, 36, was with the McCanns, of Rothley, Leics, the night Maddie went missing. Gerry told cops the call was made within four kilometres of his holiday apartment. Phone records show the pair were 25km apart." - The Sun, December 3 (last five lines of the story....)

More than 700,000 pounds have been already spent, from the 1,1 million pounds donated to the Fund to help find Madeleine. John McCann, brother of Gerry McCann, accused the Media for the sharp reduction of donations: "The funds aren't anywhere near the level they were a few months ago thanks to a lot of the crap that's been written over here." John McCann didn’t elaborate about the level of the other fund, created for facing legal expenses and paying lawyers.

The official site Helping to Find Madeleine has proposed a day of pray for tomorrow, December 3, to ask for the “end to the corruption that has occurred in the police investigation” of Madeleine’s disappearance. This is not the first time accusations are made against Portuguese police. Since Gerry and Kate realized investigators were not convinced by their story of kidnapping, friends and family started a smear campaign, later concentrated on the main investigator, Gonçalo Amaral, accused of being just a drunken hapless plod, by the British Media. The day before Gerry and Kate were named suspects, they called the editor of News of the World and gave an interview (later, deleted from their website) where they accused Portuguese police of framing them and justified that attitude with the fact that PJ was running out of budget and so they had to close the case. Same accusations were made on a interview with the Daily Mirror and other newspapers.

“(...) Meanwhile, it has emerged that the Find Madeleine campaign has been scaled down on advice from Downing Street. At the weekend Gerry, an NHS cardiologist, admitted he had started to think about returning to work and said it was time to ease back on the campaign. A source close to the family claimed they had spoken to Gordon Brown on a number of occasions and had been advised that it was time to take a step back. The source said: ‘Dealing with the media is obviously something Kate and Gerry are not used to so they have had to learn as they have gone along. They are happy to take advice from those with more experience in these matters. After all, the only thing that matters to them is finding their little girl.”

Clarence Mitchell has only been in PR for a few months. But at the CIPR's presidential reception three weeks ago, he was certainly the star turn. Once word got around that the spokesman for the McCann family was in attendance, the great and the good of the PR industry were almost queuing up to talk to him, all eager to find out a little more about the mystery of Madeleine's disappearance (...) Mitchell was first sent to meet Gerry McCann at East Midlands airport two weeks after Madeleine's disappearance. The pair flew back together to Portugal. Mitchell then spent an intense month of 15-hour days with the family. He had to return to his government role, and others handled the McCanns' PR. But even then, he says, the family still called him for advice in his own time. 'We had become friends,' he says. 'But I couldn't help them beyond the odd phone call, because officially the Government couldn't be seen to be involved.' (...)

...and a time for every purpose under heaven:A time to be born, And a time to die; A time to plant, And a time to pluck up that which is planted;A time to kill, And a time to heal; A time to break down, And a time to build up (...)

Thursday, 29 November 2007

“Contradictory statements” and a clear lack of cooperation with Portuguese police raised suspicions about the McCann that were reported to a British Government member by diplomatic staff based in Portugal. The document, classified as confidential, also called the attention to consequences of what was considered “overstepping” the limits and pressing local authorities, resulting from the actions of another local British diplomatic representative. The message asked for confirmation of previous instructions, coming from London, ordering that “full support” was given to the McCann, by all diplomatic representatives in Portugal and British police officers, sent from Leicestershire and Scotland Yard, to follow the investigations of Madeleine’s disappearance. One of the specific instructions stated that the McCann should be always accompanied, either by a diplomatic representative or a police officer, in all contacts with Portuguese police.

Wednesday, 28 November 2007

A team of PJ investigators and forensic experts from the National Forensic Laboratory will leave tomorrow, November 28, to UK. The team will stay three days in UK and will held meetings with British police forces and technicians from Forensic Science Services.

Questions have been asked and tension is growing, as Gerry and Kate are more and more aggressive, whenever there is any question they understood as an indication of mistrust about their version of events.

Clarence Mitchell pushed hard to organize a Christmas related event where a large number of close relatives and all of Tapas friends would make a wonderful opportunity for the Media to show a family in grief, victim of those drunken, uncivilized and sub-human Portuguese policemen.

A decision to change plans was taken and a warning made to all family members. But it was too late to avoid word spreading that Madeleine’s family would buy presents for her, in the hope she could be back before Christmas. It seems that somebody wiser than Clarence Mitchell had the capacity to understand that using Christmas to boost the image of relaxed, confident and good-looking parents, eight months after her daughter disappeared, was not a good PR manoeuvre.

Sunday, 25 November 2007

One thing seems clear, since the beginning: Tapas group are hiding something. And British tabloids, which followed Princess Diana everywhere, seem to keep a very respectful distance to the McCann friends. British journalists are around Robert Murat's girlfriend house the all day. There isn't one British journalist near the houses of David Payne, Matthew Oldfield, Jane Tanner, Charlotte Pennington or Najova Chekaya, that strange fitness instructor that had a different version of events on May 3. I remember previous cases when British tabloids have placed dozens of photographers on the trail of people connected to cases that were a good front page story. In this case, almost two dozen people with a good knowledge about what happened are able to go on with their daily routine, without a single journalist or photographer crossing their way. British journalists have orders not to disturb anyone connected to the McCann family. They know that only news that supports the claim of innocence of the McCann are accepted by editors, following their bosses’ orders. That's why they know a lot of things that people can't see on The Sun or Daily Mail. Because they can't publish it. So, they post at a few chosen message boards and forums - usually, at the Mirror's forums. And they talk with friends and colleagues, and they call other friends and colleagues, to give some tips and some information about the McCann, because they know they can't publish that information in the British Press. For the Media tycoons, the McCann must be innocent. They have to be innocent, whatever the reality is. I wonder why a couple of the richest businessmen in UK need the McCann to be innocent. Who do they want to please?

A new nanny (or the old one?) has came forward with another story: she saw a man who she later identified as Robert Murat, trying to snatch a baby from the same apartment Madeleine vanished – but it happened last year, 2006. “Comical Clari”, as always, is doing his worst. “She informed cops after the incident at the Ocean Club resort in Praia da Luz, Portugal, at the end of last year. Now she has given a statement to the Metodo 3 detective agency”, according to the News of the World. Five members from the family that owns and manages Metodo 3, the private investigators hired by Brian Kennedy to find Madeleine, were arrested, in 1995 and charged with illegal phone tapping. The case was dismissed, later. Those imbeciles of Metodo 3 said, few days ago, they knew already who has kidnapped Madeleine and where she was. Millions of viewers saw and heard it, on TV. Now, they say they “have narrowed their search to a hit list of ten paedophiles”, the Daily Star wrote. I don’t know who is more stupid: Mr. Francisco Marco, from Metodo 3 or Dominik Lemanski, the journalist from Daily Star who wrote the story. Clarence Mitchell and the McCann put a great trust on the capacity of Metodo 3. Right. But not to find Madeleine.

Saturday, 24 November 2007

He was a "very British" gentleman that was with the McCann, working for the Foreign Office, when they went to Morocco, on June 10, according to a French publication. One more name, among many others from the Foreign Office, that have been helping the McCann, like Sheryl Dodd, Bil Henderson and John Buck. Who is Mr. John Kayn? How many other high ranking civil servants have been (or are..) "working" for this couple of formal suspects in the disappearance of their daughter? And why most of them are no more at their previous posts? Sheryl Dodd left the Foreign Office, Bil Henderson and John Buck (pictured left), Ambassador in Lisbon and Consul at Algarve, left Portugal.

"Last weekend a national paper proclaimed in about 300 point bold capitals that Madeleine McCann was indeed ALIVE. Today another newspaper said with similar conviction: SHE'S DEAD." - Rob Irvine, editor of the Daily Post (Wales)

"Portugal’s most senior lawyer has said that the publicity surrounding the Madeleine McCann investigation will probably have forced the missing girl’s kidnappers to kill her. Fernando Jose Pinto Monteiro, Portugal’s attorney-general, told the press that the investigation had become the most expensive in Portugal’s history, and that the publicity campaign kick-started by the McCanns in May would make it “natural” for Madeleine’s abductors to kill her."Would an abductor, with all this publicity and with the whole world having Madeleine's photo, still demand a ransom?” he asked. “If it is an abduction, it is natural that the abductor killed her" - by Newsdesk Special

Reader's comments: "I think Mr Monteiro is spot on in his assessment and has the courage to be honest and call a spade a spade.If Madeleine was kidnapped (and we don't know that she was) why would anyone keep her now when the McCann Campaign has made her such a liability? Any initial purpose they may have had for her has been rendered useless by all the publicity. I really question the wisdom of the McCann private detectives in broadcasting to the world that they are hot on the tail of the alleged kidnappers."

“We have been preoccupied with preparation for our audience with the Pope tomoorow morning. This morning was spent acquiring some appropriate dress for the meeting since we had only holiday clothes with us in Portugal. Clarence has been inundated with calls regarding the visit to Rome and done most of the organisation behind the scenes."

"It has been very difficult to leave Sean and Amelie but it is only for one nght and we will be back to see them before bedtime tomorrow. Trish and Sandy (Madeleine’s Godparents) who have been with us in Portugal since Day 2 are looking after them and we were surprised to hear they were tucked up in bed by 7.30pm- they must like their new beds!”

“The flight to Rome passed extremely quickly and some footage was taken for TV. We did a couple of short interviews for the British and Portuguesae press about our feelings regarding the trip. Under normal circumstances we would be extremely excited about meeting the Pope, but as we are here as a result of Madeleine’s abduction the circumstances are very different. We expect to receive a great spiritual lift, especially if we get to speak to the Pontiff personally. After the audience we will be holding a short press conference in the British Embassy to the Vatican to talk about our campaign to publicise Madeleine’s disappearance and of course, our audience with the Pope.”

“Francis Campbell, the British ambassador to the Holy See, and his staff picked us at the airport and brought us directly to the Embassy residences near the city centre. We have been made to feel completely at ease and almost as if we are part of a small family here, which has helped ease our tangible nerves, not unsurprising given the importance of tomorrow’s meeting. We are now retiring and will be saying our usual prayers for Madeleine’s safe return”

In an exclusive interview to This is London, Edward Smethurst, the lawyer coordinating the McCanns' defence, said: "Hair grows by about a centimetre a month so if you have eight centimetres of hair, you can test for drugs going back eight months.With the appropriate, fully-accredited experts, hair samples were taken from Sean, Amelie and Kate and the conclusion was no evidence of sedatives or drugs were found.”

Friday, 23 November 2007

“Today, the McCanns were in Amsterdam for the first time since 2004, when they lived in the city for a year. Holding a poster of their daughter at a packed press conference, Mr McCann said: "It is particularly sad for Kate and I to come back for the first time and not to come back with Madeleine who spent a year here with us.”

"It is very emotional, we have fond memories of our year in Amsterdam. We have a lot of good friends here who have been working behind the scenes to help us. We have come to the Netherlands today with a very specific objective.”

"After British and German tourists, the largest group of nationals who make up the tourists in the Algarve are the Dutch. Mr McCann insisted there was a logic behind the trips they have made in the last week.”

"We are not going to go to every country in Europe. We are not selling a book, we are not pop stars, we have come here for a very specific reason. Mrs McCann said: "We are amateurs in this. There are very few people who will have to go through anything as painful as this."

"Find the body and prove we killed her." It is understood their lawyers have told them that without a body it will be extremely difficult for the authorities to press charges. A close friend said: "The legitimate question to ask Portuguese police is: 'Where is the body? Where's the evidence that madeleine is dead? We have got no idea.'"

Thursday, 22 November 2007

"I said to them that I think there's a possibility that Madeleine may not be the story eventually, that you may be the story." - Jon Corner, godfather of Amelie, movie producer and author of a video showing the McCann after their daughter disappeared. Transcript of the BBC program, Panorama, available at the blog of Joana Morais.

“I can't square their claims that she has been taken by paedophiles with their lack of hair-tearing hysteria or with the casual things they sometimes say and the way in which they say things; any normal parent would be so out of their minds with grief and worry if they sincerely believed their defenceless little child was being abused by a paedophile - I just can't believe they have ever sincerely had that worry.” - a Blogspate view of BBC program Panorama.

Clarence Mitchell, spokesman for the McCann family, made an appeal to anyone who thinks he saw Madeleine to call only Metodo 3 hotline. A new witness called Metodo 3, a few days ago and said he saw Madeleine on May 5, in a small city 100 miles from Algarve. Some British newspapers identified the person who allegedly took Madeleine to Silves as Murat's girlfriend.

"I have to say that I'm surprised that Kate and Gerry left their children at all. I have thought about it a lot because they are such caring parents and I think 'why?” - Susan Healy, the grandmother of Madeleine McCann told BBC Panorama. She also accused again Portuguese police of planting evidence to incriminate the McCann in the disappearance of her daughter.

Investigators from Metodo 3 are probing what British Media calls a “sensational claim” from a witness that recognized Michaela Walczuch in the city of Zaio, in the North of Morocco. The witness, Isabel Gonzalez, reported to Spanish police an alleged sighting of Madeleine McCann on June 15. Now, after detectives from Metodo 3 showed her several pictures, she said that the blonde woman she saw, near the same place where Madeleine was, is Robert Murat’s girlfriend.

Metodo 3, a Spanish private detectives company, was hired by the McCann to found evidence that Madeleine was kidnapped. The director of Metodo 3, Francisco Marco, told BBC that he knows who kidnapped Madeleine and also where she is, now. Francisco Marco also told British Media he is “100 % sure” Madeleine is alive.

Monday, 19 November 2007

Moita Flores, former PJ Chief-Inspector and Criminologist, speaking to SIC, a Portuguese TV channel: “As for the Spanish detective, the theory he comes up with is that of a crook, a crook without conditions to be taken seriously. Because he denies the first rule of criminal investigation, which is not to believe in absolute truths and he considers as an absolute truth that the little girl was abducted, he knows who the abductor was, and where she is. Well, this is false. And this is so false one realizes it's a way of making money and not of bringing us the truth.”

A non-identified source from Polícia Judiciária, quoted by Victoria Ward, from Daily Mirror, said that the possibility of Madeleine being kidnapped was “always one of the main lines of inquiry.” The same source told Daily Mirror: “We (PJ) don't know why that line of inquiry was dismissed without any evidence against the McCann couple.” In Portugal, only the Public Prosecutor's Office has powers to investigate a crime. Polícia Judiciária is the Police force in charge of investigating crime cases, but all the investigations are directed by a magistrate from the Public Prosecutor's Office.

Don Cargill, chairman of the British and European Polygraph Association, said the McCanns told him they would only take the test if it was 100 per cent accurate and admissible in a Portuguese court. He told the Sunday Express: "Kate said she'd take it to prove her innocence but in reality, she wasn't willing.

"I don't think it was the McCanns' fault. I was left with the impression the whole thing was a PR exercise to get sympathy at a time when Kate was under increasing scrutiny."

Times Online:“Everyone I know who had been to Portugal with their children said it was very family friendly, and it did feel like that,” says Kate. “If I’d had to think for one second about it, it wouldn’t have happened. I never even had to think like that, to make the decision. It felt so safe that I didn’t even have to – I mean, I don’t think we took a risk. If I put the children in the car the chances of having an accident would be greater than somebody coming in, breaking into your apartment and lifting a child out of her bed. But you never think, I shouldn’t put the children in the car.”

Sky News:Ian Woods: Looking back, I mean, did you see anything suspicious in the days leading up to her abduction? Did you notice anything? Have you been racking your brains to try and think whether people might have been watching?

Kate McCann: We didn’t

Gerry McCann: If we did we wouldn’t tell you [laughs] because it may be important information but we didn’t. You know, it was such a relaxing holiday. In fact as a family unit, up until that night, I know for friends who were here and certainly for us, it was as good a holiday as we have had with the children – up until that point.

BBC:“Mr McCann said that, before Madeleine went missing, he and his wife had been concerned by the security at the back of their Praia da Luz apartment when "maybe the weak spots were at the front".

"It's a corner flat with trees overlooking it - somebody could be hiding there or watching out of view," he said. He added: "I've no doubt that Madeleine was targeted and that makes us sick to the core to think that someone was watching us and our daughter and then targeted her - I think the true word is a predator. But you just don't think there's any trouble and it's certainly the furthest thing from our mind."

A new witness found by Metodo 3, the Spanish detectives company hired by the McCann, said that she saw Robert Murat’s girlfirend, Michaela Walczuch, with Madeleine McCann on May 5, two days after the child disappeared from Ocean Club.

Francisco Franco, the director of Metodo, 3 told Daily Mail their investigators are “very, very close to finding her kidnappers”. The witness, who called Metodo 3 hotline, said she saw a man similar to the description made by Jane Tanner in a city 100 miles from Algarve, with Madeleine McCann inside a white van.

"A bit like the balloons, it's to remind everyone 50 days on that Madeleine is still missing. In three months' time, if she is still missing, we'll still be there and we'll still be looking for her." The McCanns, who are both doctors, said they had no intention of giving up the search and currently had no plans to return to work in the UK."

Saturday, 17 November 2007

"Jane, 36, one of the seven friends dining with Kate and Gerry McCann in a tapas bar on holiday in Portugal, said she was speaking out – despite being ordered not to by Portuguese police – because she had been labelled a liar and a fantasist. She said she suffers daily torment because she did not immediately realise the significance of what she had seen" (...) “She was a little bit hesitant. In some ways, she was loath to do it but the subject had been agreed with all the circle and the lawyers.” - Daily Express, September 17, 2007.

“A Stoughton private investigator hired by the CBS show “48 Hours” to probe the mysterious disappearance of a little British girl believes her parents are innocent but found holes in their story. Joe Moura, who speaks fluent Portuguese, spent 15 days last month posing undercover as a vacationing businessman at the Ocean Club in Portugal’s resort town of Praia da Luz - where little Madeleine McCann vanished in May in a story that has made international headlines.”(...)“Moura discovered that the routine of the McCanns and their friends was always the same. “They all had dinner at the same time every night,” Moura said. “They all left their children in apartments - unsupervised and alone. This was a pattern that went on for five days.”(...)“The McCanns also claimed that they could see the corner apartment where they were staying from the restaurant, but Moura said a large wall covered with a hedge blocks the view. The parents claim they checked on their children every half-hour - the girl was discovered missing at 10 p.m. - but Moura said witnesses told him only one person - the tallest man of the group and not her parents - got up from the table.

“Moura, who has worked on thousands of cases during his 34-year career, believes a pedophile snatched Madeleine. After speaking with numerous employees, familiarizing himself with the compound and reviewing the time line, Moura said it would have been impossible for the McCanns to harm their daughter and dispose of her body. “It doesn’t work,” he said. “The time doesn’t work.” - Boston Herald

"Jane, of Exeter, agreed with the permission of the McCanns to speak to BBC's Panorama for a one-hour special report on Monday night. The footage has been shared with US network CBS, which plans to air it tonight. A Portuguese programme will screen another version tomorrow. Clarence Mitchell, the McCanns' spokesman, said: "All the friends have become frustrated at the secrecy under the Portuguese legal system. Jane felt now was the time to put the record straight." - Mirror, September 17, 2007

Thursday, 15 November 2007

America’s Most Wanted”, from Fox, will be broadcasted from London, next Saturday, November 17, and will be dedicated to Madeleine McCann disappearance. Journalist John Turchin, a Fox correspondent in Portugal, analysed the crime scene at Praia da Luz and talks about the several possible scenarios.”

CBS will air exclusive footage tracking the McCann family following Maddie's disappearance from their rented apartment. The video was shot by a family friend, according to CBS website. It will be broadcasted this Saturday, in a special report that includes also an interview with Gerry McCann.

The father or Madeleine told CBS that he and his wife “will always live with the fact that Kate and I were not in the apartment when it happened.” A source from Polícia Judiciária told that they have no information about the existence of a video shot after Madeleine disappeared

The blonde child seen by an Irish tourist on November 1st, in the catholic sanctuary of Medjugorje, is not Madeleine McCann. Bosnia police identified the child as Tea Dedic, who lives in the city of Ljubuski with her parents

“British sources have indicated that the tests - and subsequent analysis carried out by the forensic scientists - continue to point towards the McCanns' involvement and that nothing has been discovered to suggest the involvement of any other person.”

“The McCanns are also considering using the fund to hire a team of investigators in France and Spain (...) ‘Previously there were sightings all over the world, which gave Gerry and Kate hope of finding their daughter. Recently, since the police focused on Gerry and Kate, these have stopped. We want the new campaign to encourage people to keep looking.”

“(...) the McCanns announced plans to launch a new advertising blitz to to try and find the missing four-year-old alive. Up to £80,000 will be used from the 'find Madeleine fund' to pay for newspaper, television and billboard adverts which will publicise her disappearance in May. Beginning in a fortnight, the campaign will focus on Spain, Portugal and other areas of Europe.”

“Gerry and Kate McCann are launching a new campaign to find their daughter. They will focus on the remotest mountain villages in Morocco, Portugal and Spain to reach those who have never heard of the missing girl. Their spokesman speaks to Sky News Online.”

Editor’s Note: In Portugal, we are still waiting for the new campaign to start...

Wednesday, 14 November 2007

“The accusations against the Portuguese judicial system and Polícia Judiciária are totally groundless and even contradictory to what the English Government and Police have been saying”, Mr. Pinto Monteiro, the head of Portuguese Public Prosecutor's Office, told Gazeta Digital, when asked to comment about the content of a letter sent on behalf of Mr. Roger Knapman, an English member of European Parliament, about Madeleine McCann's disappearance.

Mr. Pinto Monteiro said that he had no further comment because he thinks that the answer to a member of the European Parliament should be a political answer, instead of a legal answer. Mr. Roger Knapman acknowledged, in a letter sent on his behalf, that “British police and intelligence services have long had a better grip on the facts” concerning Madeleine McCann disappearance “than the Portuguese police”.

The letter referred also that “Portuguese police is corrupt”, investigation of Madeleine's disappearance was “amateurish” and “flawed”, and British citizens need to be protected by their Government against a country like Portugal, where the judicial system is “suspect”, most police officers were trained under the fascist regime that ended in 1974 and legal system doesn't includes the concept of innocent until proven guilty.

All the threads discussing the letter sent on behalf of Roger Knapman, a British member of European Parliament, to a constituent that raised several questions concerning Madeleine's case, in the Mirror's Forum, have been deleted "by Admin at the highest level and we have been asked to remove any threads that re-post copies of the Emails or discuss them in any detail", according to a post from the moderators of Mirror's Forum: "Moderators can't give you any more information about why this action was taken as we don't know at this stage."

Mr. Roger Knapman aknowledged, in a letter sent on his behalf, that “British police and intelligence services have long had a better grip on the facts” concerning Madeleine McCann disappearance “than the Portuguese police”. Asked to comment the content of the letter, send on his behalf by his assistant, Piers Merchant, Mr. Roger Kapman told Sky News: "It sounds fair enough. Piers has very carefully investigated this matter and responded on my behalf."

“In any event I think you can rest assured that the British police and intelligence services have long had a better grip on the facts of this case than the Portuguese police”, says a letter sent on behalf of Roger Knapman, a British member of European Parliament, to a constituent that raised several questions concerning the case.

The letter said also that “Portuguese police is corrupt”, investigation of Madeleine's disappearance was “amateurish” and “flawed”, and British citizens need to be protected by their Government against a country like Portugal, where the judicial system is “suspect”, most police officers were trained under the fascist regime that ended in 1974 and legal system doesn't includes the concept of innocent until proven guilty.

Asked to comment the content of the letter, send on his behalf by his assistant, Piers Merchant, Mr. Roger Kapman told Sky News: "It sounds fair enough. Piers has very carefully investigated this matter and responded on my behalf."

Monday, 12 November 2007

“My client must keep secret what he can do help the search for the truth and this is not due to the law secrecy in Portugal. That is is quite revealing of the strange circumstances around this case”, says the lawyer of one of the two McCann friends that were at Tapas Bar, on the night of May 3, and decided to have a close cooperation with Police, as “El Mundo” published, last Tuesday. “He is not afraid of the McCann but the economic and political lobby that exists, around that couple, frightens any person.”

“Police was called only after the group analysed the problems they could face for having left the children alone and until now, my client had no chance to talk for himself”, the London-based lawyer said. Since September, he represents one of the two friends of the McCann that contacted police and asked for an opportunity to be requestioned, in order to correct some details and discrepancies of the statements made by the group of nine persons that were on holidays at Ocean Club. “What my client wants is to get the truth out – meaning, he is not there to accuse or to clear anyone, that's a police job. He just wants to help police to know the truth about what happened before, during and after that diner, on May 3.”

Asked to comment the denial from Clarence Mitchell, the McCann spokesman who claimed he has been in touch with all the seven McCann friends and all of them told they gave no instructions to their lawyers to contact police and be requestioned, the British lawyer said: “When you look at all the pressure that has been put up over him and others, it's natural that my client would not tell Clarence Mitchell he decided to have his own legal representation and a more close cooperation with police.”

A strong critic of the Media frenzy about Madeleine's disappearance, the lawyer of this member of Tapas group considers that the case is “much more serious” than most people thinks: “I don't want to accuse anyone, but there are people close to the McCann that is not really helping them. However, my client intention is to bring the truth out, in this sad story, no matter who gets hurt.”

The support the McCann had from the Government is another aspect the lawyer criticises: “I understand that our Government had the legal obligation to help the McCann. What I don't understand is that they received such a help that goes further and over anything that would be normal, for a case like this. But, since the the first hours, it was clear that Madeleine's case was not just a normal police case. My client had no support, at all, from the British authorities – only through the McCann couple.”

Questioned about the British Government involvement and political connections related with the case, the London-based lawyer said: “It's not my job to explain why and how politicians had intervened in this case, but I'm afraid that those interventions have been prejudicial not only to my client, but also to the search for the truth.”